Little Nerdy Dude With Wings
by Queen of the Crossroads
Summary: Dean learns more about the consequences of a weakened angel taking a trip through time. Tag for 5x13 - "The Song Remains the Same" Dean/Cas friendship. No slash.


_**Little Nerdy Dude with Wings**_

_A/n: This is a missing scene from "The Song Remains the Same", covering the gap between their arrival in 1978 and when Dean comes out of the motel and meets Sam. Just a little Dean/Cas friendship and h/c. I hope you enjoy! :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural and make no profit from this story._

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"Cas, come on man, let's get you somewhere," Dean said, motioning for Sam to help him get the angel to his feet. Cas groaned something in Enochian before letting a haggard cough out, blood spattering the arm of his trench coat. Once Cas was on his feet, albeit shakily, Dean looked around, trying to find a place where they could bring Cas to where he'd be relatively safe.

Dean was incredibly worried about his friend at the moment. He felt instantly guilty for having pressured Cas into bringing them along to 1978. He'd known that it would weaken him, but he hadn't known that it would physically hurt him like this. If he'd known that before...

Dean spotted a motel called The Prairie Court conveniently located on the other side of the street. He shifted Cas so that he was supporting most of his weight instead of Sam. _Man, Cas is heavier than he looks, _Dean thought distractedly.

"Sammy, you stay out here, try to track down a lead on where Mom and Dad are. Don't go too far away, got it? Stay within a couple of blocks of here. Meet me in front of that motel in a half an hour," he instructed his brother. Sam nodded, casting one last worried glance towards Cas before releasing his hold on the angel.

"Okay, Cas, let's go," he said gently, taking a step forward. Castiel's body was shaking violently, and his pace was labored and pained. Carefully, they made their way across the street, much to the consternation of traffic. Cas jolted when a passing car blared the horn at them. Dean flipped off the driver. "You're alright, it's just a car."

They reached the other side of the street, and Dean guided Castiel inside the cheap motel. They made their way to the check-in desk, receiving a strange look from the clerk there. "He alright?"

"Not really," Dean answered truthfully, diving a hand into his wallet and withdrawing a wad of cash, which he passed to the clerk. "Five nights."

"Only room we got open is the honeymoon suite," the clerk said. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, I just don't want the room disturbed for any reason, got it?"

The clerk shrugged. "Don't sweat it, man. Hey, you want to buy some dope?"

Okay, 1978 was a cool year. "I'm good. Thanks, though." He scribbled down James Novak and Eddie Richardson on the sign-in sheet. The clerk handed him a room key.

"Room eight, towards the back of the hallway." He looked over them with an arched eyebrow. "Have a good time," he added suggestively. Dean leveled a withering glare at him. Yeah, he was definitely going to get funky with the guy in a trench coat puking up blood next to him.

Without further ado, he escorted Castiel down the adjacent hallway, rubbing a hand up his back when the angel doubled over in agony, a stream of blood dripping from his mouth and onto the shag carpet. "Dean..."

"I'm here, Cas, it's okay. It's going to be okay," he assured him, and they continued down the hallway. They made it to the door, and he slid in the key. Once they were inside with the door shut, Dean laid Cas down on the king sized bed, which had a pink comforter and shaped like a heart. _Oh, that's just great. Real original, too. _

"_Mak... tro... pai._.." Cas muttered, rolling over and curling up in the fetal position. Dean patted him on the shoulder.

"Dude. English," he said. Cas nodded blearily as Dean turned to the nearby sofa, which had a quilt folded neatly on it. He grabbed the quilt and brought it back to Cas, throwing it over the angel.

"My apologies..." Cas croaked as Dean smoothed the blanket around Castiel's shaking form. "Leave me, Dean. You have work to d-do. I'm sorry I c-can't accompany you." He winced and put a hand to his stomach. "I admit, I thought it was more likely that this trip would k-kill me than simply... injure..." he stopped talking, dragging in ragged gasps of breath.

"Wait, back up!" Dean said. "You thought transporting all three of us here would kill you, and you did it anyway?"

"I wasn't sure. I knew there was a chance that it c-could," Cas responded, burying his face in one of the plush velvet pillows of the bed.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me that?" Dean burst out, staring down at his friend. Cas shifted slightly, turning his head to look at him. There was blood caked on his chin and nose. Dean sighed, heading to the bathroom to get something to clean Cas up a bit.

"I didn't want you to be burdened with the decision between saving your parents or..." Castiel trailed off, the unspoken end of the sentence hanging in the air between them. In the bathroom, Dean soaked one of the complimentary towels in warm water before returning to Cas' bedside. Cas' eyes were closed, his face turned to the side. Dean gently put a hand on the side of his face, turning the angel's head so he could access it better with the towel. Cas' eyes remained closed.

"You listen to me, Cas," Dean said, his voice only a little above a whisper. He patted the towel along Castiel's chin and jaw line. "Don't you ever do that again. Ever. You're like... you're like family to me, man. I can't lose you. If you had told me there was a chance you could bite it, I wouldn't have forced you to drag us along for the ride."

"You'd risk your parents' lives for my sake?" Cas asked sleepily as Dean wiped the dried blood from under his nose.

"Cas, it wasn't that I didn't trust you to save 'em on your own... I guess, it was selfish, really... I just wanted to see them again, you know?" he told him honestly. "Damn it, I'm sorry, Castiel."

"I'll be fine, Dean," Castiel said, opening his eyes, intense blue staring at him. "Eventually. I will need t-time to recover. As soon as I'm able, I'll assist you in finding Anna."

"We can handle it. You just stay here and rest, okay? Get better," he said as he finished cleaning Castiel's face. He patted his cheek awkwardly. "Uh... I guess I better..."

"Wait," Cas said, grabbing Dean's arm as he withdrew. Cas dove his hand into the pocket of his trench coat, retrieving his silver angel blade. Hand shaking, he held it out to Dean. "This is my angel b-blade. It is one of the only things that can kill Anna. Please be c-careful with it. If something happens, I will not be able to get another one."

"I'll keep it safe," Dean promised, accepting the blade and testing it in his hand. It was the lightest sword he'd ever held, and it felt well-balanced. "Nice."

"It will kill almost any supernatural entity - demon, angel, what have you."

"Thanks, Cas," he said, pocketing the blade. "For everything." Cas didn't respond, but he did release Dean's arm. He collapsed back against the bed, gasping slightly as he pulled the quilt around him tightly. He coughed again, and Dean wished desperately that he could stay and make sure that Cas recovered properly. It was his fault that his friend was in his current state, anyway.

"Dean," Cas called just before Dean could reach the door and depart. He turned to look back at him. "Please be careful. You... you are like family to me, as well."

He felt a kind of warmth in his chest, the kind of warmth that Sam and Bobby would give him sometimes, the kind of warmth that you only got from knowing that someone out there really, genuinely gave a damn about him. He gave Cas the best smile he could under the circumstances.

"Careful's my middle name," he replied. "Bye, Cas."

"Goodbye, Dean."

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_A/n: Reviews would be loved. :)_


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